ABSTRACT
The ruthenium-catalyzed allylation of aldehydes with allylic pro-nucleophiles has been demonstrated to be an efficient means to form carbon-carbon bonds under mild conditions. The evolution of this reaction from the initial serendipitous discovery to its general synthetic scope is detailed, highlighting the roles of water, CO, and amine in the generation of a more complete catalytic cycle. The use of unsymmetrical allylic pro-nucleophiles was shown to give preferential product formation through the modulation of reaction conditions. Both (E)-cinnamyl acetate and vinyl oxirane were efficiently used to form the anti-branched products (up to >20:1 anti/syn) and E-linear products (up to >20:1 E/Z) in high selectivity with aromatic, α,ß-unsaturated, and aliphatic aldehydes, respectively. Attempts to render the reaction enantioselective are highlighted and include enantioenrichment of up to 75:25 for benzaldehyde.
ABSTRACT
The ruthenium-catalyzed allylation of aldehydes with allylic acetates has been expanded to incorporate substituents at the 2-position of the allylic components. Allylic acetates bearing a variety of substituents (CO2-t-Bu, COMe, Ph, CH(OEt)2, and Me) undergo high-yielding additions with aromatic, α,ß-unsaturated, and aliphatic aldehydes. The conditions of the reaction were found to be mild (75 °C, 24-48 h) and only required the use of 2-3 mol % of the triruthenium dodecacarbonyl catalyst under 40-80 psi of CO. The stoichiometries of water and allylic acetate employed were found to be critical to reaction efficiency.
